Feel/Taste - Medium body, very little carbonation, a bit flat, watery, and heavy feeling. Lacking crispness. Taste is a dead ringer for the nose (see above), very malt forward. Grassy hops are just barely perceptible and act to balance the sweet malts a little. Finishes on the sweet side, and this sweetness borders on cloying after a while.

Overall - A very strange (unique?) example of a Marzenbier indeed, and not my favorite take on the style. It's almost like the lager version of a brown ale, but with some Belgian dark ale fruit-like notes. It would be much better with the carbonation and body adjusted a bit.

Pours a deep brown/mahogany color with ruby highlights when held up to the light. A half-inch of creamy tan head sits on top. Sweet aroma of caramel malt, a little bit of plum, and a touch of astringency. Palate is more sweet caramel malt, light fruit, a hint of lightly fruity hops, and a touch of a bready character. Nice and well-rounded. Body is smooth and just light enough to make this a highly quaffable marzen. A bit different from the German marzens I've tried lately, but quite tasty nonetheless.

Deep red with a fine, off-white head. Aromas of earthy black malt; slightly smokey but not at all burnt or roasty. The nose is soft and has a dark German malt character, which becomes firmer with nicely integrated hop bitterness. The hops are subtle and barely stand up to the dark malt, but the finish is very clean. The carbonation is a little low, giving it a flat mouthfeel. Generally a little one-dimensional, and not as bready as I like an Oktoberfest, but drinkable.

The beer was much darker than I expected from an Oktoberfest, something closer to a thick and dark nut brown beer. The nose wasn't anything remarkable, with maybe just a touch of malt peering through the head, but overall, a very nose-less beer, which is becoming pretty consistent with this dark lager style. Bayern's attention to purity again is the most astonishing note about this beer. The taste is crisp and smooth, with a slight bitterness near the beginning giving way to some sublte nut characteristics with a nice sour touch coupled with the roasted malt.

I have to believe that this is as close to a German Oktoberfest beer that you can get in Montana, if not the U.S., and the drinkability of this dark lager is pretty high, mainly due to the overall pure and smooth texture that leaves you refreshed after each sip. Bayern's beer is really growing on me now. Give it a try for yourself, and I think you too will become a convert, if you haven't already switched by now.

Sampled at the Bayern Brewery on our Montana Beer Trip, and brought back mixed 12 pack. Nice scenery label, BB date notched. Neck label describes this as being 'brewed in the tradition of Bavarian Masterbrews since 1987.' "Bayern Oktoberfest is the classic German style Dark Marzen; not too sweet, yet malty, with a nice hop flavor. Brewed according to the standards of the Brewer's Guild of Munich established when the beer was first brewed in 1815. Even if you can't make it to Munich for Oktoberfest we offer this authentic beer available from late August until late October for your autumn enjoyment. Prost!"
Poured with hardly any head, and left just the thinnest ring around the glass. Deep dark amber brown color, just as I expected for an Oktoberfest. Strong smell of sweet and toasted malt, and a rich almost burnt toffee aroma. Taste is somewhat sweet, but not overly sticky sweet. Touch of hops, but mush more maltiness throughout. Good body, low carbonation make it seem flat, yet still smooth and drinkable.

I had to drink something because I just came home with an epic haul and couldn't fit it all! Problem solved! Bayern's on the chopping block. Oh yeah, to keep the good vibes going, thanks to Donkster46 for this trade.

Appearance (3.75) : Darker than I expected. A 1 finger head rests on top of the copper/foldgers coffee colored body. Opacity is about 30%, I can see the shadow of my fingers on the other side when held up to light. Thick webbing laces the glass as the head recedes to a stable ring.

Overall (3.56) : It's not bad, I would rank it under the "decent" category. I'm about tapped out for Marzens this year, I've only reviewed about a dozen of them. This one ranks "competent" and the standout is probably the dark toast/"pumpkin" yeast flavors. It's also definitely a lager as it's lighter bodied. Nice if you want a change of pace, but I think Lakefront's Pumpkin Lager is a stretch better.

I rather like this beer. I picked up a 5 liter party keg to reuse the keg and found that the beer was very nice and returned and bought 4 more. It is a nice brown very malty brew for an oktoberfest. The head is rather nice and if I keep it under co2 in the mini keg it retains a nice head when poured into a cooled stein. It tastes of wonderful malt and is crisp and clean with a nice touch of chocolate bitterness aftertaste that leads you to want more. This is the beer I have on hand when I am out of my own homebrew.

Color is dark amber with a cream colored head. Aroma is very malty, I can't smell any hops. Taste is VERY malty, with little bitterness. The IBU count is not listed, and I'm curious about what it is. Expect it's very low. I don't think I've sampled a beer with this much malty flavor. It's a nice change of pace, but is a bit sweet. Body is medium and it has a nice mouth feel.

Poured from a longneck into a shaker glass. A fairly aggressive pour produces about 3/4 inch of creamy, off-white head. This continues to coat the top of the brew and sides of the glass. The beer is fairly dark in comparison to most Oktoberfests I've tried, and is a dark reddish-brown.

Subdued floral and earthy hops on the nose, with a bready, rich and slightly sweet malt flavor, with chocolate and caramel undertones. It has a notably satisfying mouthfeel, with a lingering creaminess on the back of the tongue.

Bayern makes excellent lager beer, and this is another prime example. This beer is without doubt the best Oktoberfest I've tried this year.